SYNOPSIS
We all know the statistics: marriage rates are down, divorce rates are up, and over time people become more dissatisfied in their relationships. The appetite for advice is insatiable, resulting in magazine covers touting tip-after-tip from experts on how to find the perfect mate, how to tell if it’s going south, and how to fix the one that’s broken. Never in history have we expected so much from romantic partners and experienced such little happiness.
Roger Nygard attended countless weddings and found himself asking: Why do people keep getting married when fifty percent break up? What makes them think they will beat the odds? And if they do, what exactly are the secrets to making it work?
Nygard tracked down the experts — and some other extraordinary folks — to solve the mystery of happy relationships. Along the way he discovered scientific facts about how we truly find each other to begin with, what we can do to increase the chances of finding our soulmate, and how most of what we call fate is anything but.
Among the experts interviewed are:
Pat Allen, Ph.D., Therapist & Educator, Author of, Getting To “I Do”
Robin Baker, Ph.D., Sexual Biology Researcher, Author of, Sperm Wars
Jeffrey Bernstein, Ph.D., Psychologist, Relationship Specialist, Author of, Why Can’t You Read My Mind?
Rabbi Lazer Brody, Marriage Counselor & Translator of, The Garden of Peace: A Marriage Guide For Men
Claire Brummell, Relationship Specialist
Fara Dabhoiwala, Ph.D., Senior Research Scholar, Princeton University, Author of, The Origins of Sex
Joy Chen, Author of, Do Not Get Married Before Age 30
Stephanie Coontz, Author of, Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage
Lucia Demasi, Dating & Relationship Expert, Author of, Lessons of Love
William J. Doherty, Ph.D., Couples Therapist, Author of, Take Back Your Marriage
John C. Friel, Ph.D., Couples Therapist, Author of, The 7 Best Things Happy Couples Do
John Gottman, Ph.D., Co-founder of The Gottman Institute, Co-Author, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work
Julie Schwartz Gottman, Ph.D., Co-founder of the Gottman Institute; Co-Author, Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
Beryl Huang, Attitudinal Psychologist, Author, Motivational Speaker, & Film Producer
Rachel Hope, Author of, Family By Choice: Platonic Partnered Parenting
Marni Kagan, Matchmaker & Relationship Coach
Benjamin R. Karney, Professor of Social Psychology, co-author of the textbook, Intimate Relationships
Matt Ridley, Author of, The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature
Christopher Ryan, Ph.D., Psychologist, Co-Author of, Sex At Dawn, and Civilized to Death
Neil Strauss, Author of, The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists
Ty Tashiro, Ph.D., Psychologist, Author of, The Science of Happily Ever After
Steven Ward, Co-Author of, Crash Course On Love
Bonnie Eaker Weil, Ph.D. Couples Therapist, Author of, Make Up, Don’t Break Up
Roger Nygard has made several indie films, and worked in television as a director and editor on shows like THE OFFICE, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, and VEEP. But he is probably most notorious for having made the documentary, TREKKIES. Nygard’s prior documentary was about: THE NATURE OF EXISTENCE. The award-winning film was an official selection of twenty film festivals and was released theatrically in 15 U.S. cities. Afterward, Nygard looked for a new concept, something even more inexplicable than existence itself, and only one subject fit that challenge: THE TRUTH ABOUT MARRIAGE.